Method for Detecting User Gestures from Alternative Touchpads of a Handheld Computerized Device

1. A computer-implemented method for controlling a control region on a display screen of a computerized system, the method comprising: obtaining, using the computerized system, first data from a first touchpad, the first data being associated with a position of a portion of the hand of a user when the user operates the computerized system using the first touchpad, the first data not being associated with an image of a finger of the user from an image sensor; wherein said hand is at an arbitrary location and an arbitrary angle with respect to said first touchpad; transmitting the first data from the first touchpad to the computerized system, the first touchpad being located in a location that is different from the location of the display screen; analyzing the first data in accordance with a model of a human hand configured to cope with arbitrary hand locations and angles; wherein said model of a human hand models a natural joint axis for a plurality of different types of fingers and joints of the human hand, and further comprises the relative lengths of the underlying hand bone structure and space occupied by the hand's muscles and skin; wherein said method further comprises using said model to calculate the relationship between finger roots and an overall hand palm angle; and assigning the first data to at least one specific finger of a plurality of fingers of the model, thereby producing assigned finger data; detecting, by the computerized system and the assigned finger data, an interaction of at least the portion of the hand of the user comprising assigned finger data on the first touchpad with at least one object displayed on the display screen; and causing, by the computerized system, at least one property of the object to be controlled in accordance with the interaction of the portion of the hand of the user comprising assigned finger data on the first touchpad; wherein detecting an interaction of at least the portion of the hand comprises using the assigned finger data to detect a finger swipe of a first finger of the user on the first touchpad when the user interacts with the at least one object on the display screen; and wherein detecting an interaction of at least the portion of the hand of the user on the first touchpad further comprises: using the assigned finger data to detect an interaction of at least a second finger of the user with the first finger of the user on the first touchpad.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the object corresponds to a multipage application displayed on the display screen and the at least one property of the object corresponds to a page number in the multipage application.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein causing the at least one property of the object to be controlled comprises changing the page number of the multipage application in response to the finger swipe.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , further comprising: determining a first direction of the finger swipe; and incrementing the page number by a pre-determined number of pages in response to the first direction.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4 , further comprising: determining a second direction of the finger swipe; and decrementing the page number by a pre-determined number of pages in response to the second direction, the second direction being different from the first direction.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein detecting an interaction of at least the portion of the hand further comprises using the assigned finger data to detect a finger swipe of a plurality of fingers of the user on the first touchpad when the user interacts with the at least one object on the display screen.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6 , wherein causing the at least one property of the object to be controlled comprises changing the page number by a pre-determined number of pages in response to the finger swipe of the plurality of fingers.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7 , further comprising detecting a velocity of the finger swipe, wherein causing the at least one property of the object to be controlled comprises changing the page number by the pre-determined number of pages in response to the velocity.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the second finger is located on a second touchpad, the second touchpad being located in a location different from the first touchpad.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 , wherein the second finger is located on the display screen.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising: using the assigned finger data to identify a first position of the first finger on the first touchpad; using the assigned finger data to identify a second position of the second finger on the second touchpad; detecting a selection of the object; and using the assigned finger data to detect a movement of the first position of the first finger relative to the second position of the second finger.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , further comprising detecting the selection of the object using the first finger on the first touchpad.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , further comprising detecting the selection of the object using the second finger of the user on the second touchpad.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , wherein causing the at least one property of the object to be controlled comprises rotating the object based on the detected movement.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , wherein causing the at least one property of the object to be controlled comprises altering an axis of rotation of the object based on the detected movement.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , wherein causing the at least one property of the object to be controlled comprises altering the size of the object based on the detected movement.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , wherein causing the at least one property of the object to be controlled comprises altering a display characteristic of the object based on the detected movement.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , wherein causing the at least one property of the object to be controlled comprises moving the object based on the detected movement.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising: identifying a first position of the first finger on the first touchpad identifying a second position of the second finger on the second touchpad; detecting a selection of a point of rotation of the object; and detecting a movement of the second position of the second finger relative to the first position of the first finger.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 19 , further comprising detecting the selection of the point of rotation of the object using the first finger on the first touchpad.

21. The computer-implemented method of claim 19 , further comprising detecting the selection of the point of rotation of the object using the second finger on the second touchpad.

22. The computer-implemented method of claim 19 , wherein causing the at least one property of the object to be controlled comprises moving the object around the point of rotation of the object based on the detected movement.

23. The computer-implemented method of claim 22 , wherein the object comprises a virtual joystick and wherein causing the at least one property of the object to be controlled comprises pushing the handle of the virtual joystick in a direction and magnitude defined by a corresponding direction and magnitude of the movement of the second position of the second finger relative to the first position of the first finger.

24. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising: using the assigned finger data to identify a first contact position of a first finger; using the assigned finger data to detect a selection of the object; using the assigned finger data to detect a change in a characteristic of the first contact position; and causing the at least one property of the object to be controlled based on the change in the characteristic.

25. The computer-implemented method of claim 24 , wherein detecting the change in the characteristic of the first contact position comprises using the assigned finger data to detect a movement of the first finger away from the first contact position.

26. The computer-implemented method of claim 24 , wherein detecting the change in the characteristic of the first contact position comprises detecting a change in the angle of the first finger in the first contact position.

27. The computer-implemented method of claim 24 , wherein detecting the change in the characteristic of the first contact position comprises detecting a change in a touch area of the first contact position.

28. The computer-implemented method of claim 24 , wherein the characteristic comprises at least one of the area or the size of the first contact position.

29. The computer-implemented method of claim 24 , wherein the characteristic comprises the shape of the first contact position.

30. The computer-implemented method of claim 24 , wherein causing the at least one property of the object to be controlled comprises applying a corresponding pressure to the displayed object based on the change in the characteristic of the first contact position.

31. The computer-implemented method of claim 24 , wherein causing the at least one property of the object to be controlled comprises applying a corresponding momentum to the displayed object based on the change in the characteristic of the first contact position.

32. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising: using the assigned finger data to detect a movement of a first finger from a first position to a second position on the first touchpad; repositioning the object in the display screen in accordance with a direction of the movement of the first finger from the first position to the second position; and enabling, for the user, an interaction with the re-positioned object.

33. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein detecting an interaction of the first finger of the user further comprises: using the assigned finger data to detect a movement of a first finger from a first position to a second position on the first touchpad; repositioning the object in the display screen in accordance with an amount of movement of the first finger from the first position to the second position; and enabling, for the user, an interaction with the re-positioned object.

34. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the object corresponds to a set of virtual keys in a virtual control region in the display screen.

35. The method of claim 1 , wherein said finger roots correspond to the location of the metacarpophalangeal joints of said human hand.

36. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which when executed by a computer cause the computer to: obtain first data from a first touchpad, the first data being associated with a position of a portion of the hand of a user when the user operates the computerized system using the first touchpad, the first data not being associated with an image of a finger of the user from an image sensor; wherein said hand is at an arbitrary location and an arbitrary angle with respect to said first touchpad; transmit the first data from the first touchpad to the computerized device, the first touchpad being located in a location that is different from the location of the display screen; analyze the first data in accordance with a model of a human hand configured to cope with arbitrary hand locations and angles; wherein said model of a human hand models a natural joint axis for a plurality of different types of fingers and joints of the human hand, and further comprises the relative lengths of the underlying hand bone structure and space occupied by the hand's muscles and skin; wherein said method further comprises using said model to calculate the relationship between finger roots and an overall hand palm angle; and assign the first data to at least one specific finger of a plurality of fingers of the model, thereby producing assigned finger data; detect, with the assigned finger data, an interaction of at least the portion of the hand of the user comprising assigned finger data on the first touchpad with at least one object displayed on the display screen; and cause at least one property of the object to be controlled in accordance with the interaction of the portion of the hand of the user comprising assigned finger data on the first touchpad.

37. The computer-readable media of claim 36 , wherein the instructions to detect an interaction of at least the portion of the hand comprises instructions to use the assigned finger data detect a finger swipe of a first finger of the user on the first touchpad when the user interacts with the at least one object on the display screen.

38. The computer-readable media of claim 37 , wherein the instructions to detect an interaction of at least the portion of the hand of the user on the first touchpad further comprise instructions to use the assigned finger data detect an interaction of at least a second finger of the user with the first finger of the user on the first touchpad, wherein the second finger is located on a second touchpad, the second touchpad being located in a location different from the first touchpad.

39. The computer-readable media of claim 38 , further comprising instructions to: use the assigned finger data to identify a first position of the first finger on the first touchpad; use the assigned finger data to identify a second position of the second finger on the second touchpad; detect a selection of the object; and use the assigned finger data to detect a movement of the first position of the first finger relative to the second position of the second finger.

40. The computer-readable media of claim 39 , wherein the instructions to cause the least one property of the object to be controlled comprise instructions to rotate the object based on the detected movement.

41. The computer-readable media of claim 39 , wherein the instructions to cause the least one property of the object to be controlled comprise instructions to alter the size of the object based on the detected movement.

42. The computer-readable media of claim 39 , wherein the instructions to cause the least one property of the object to be controlled comprise instructions to alter a display characteristic of the object based on the detected movement.

43. The computer-readable media of claim 36 , further comprising instructions to: use the assigned finger data to identify a first contact position of a first finger; use the assigned finger data to detect a selection of the object; detect a change in a characteristic of the first contact position; and cause the at least one property of the object to be controlled based on the change in the characteristic.

44. The computer-readable media of claim 43 , wherein the instructions to detect the change in the characteristic of the first contact position further comprise instructions to detect a change in a touch area of the first contact position.

45. The computer-readable media of claim 43 , wherein the characteristic comprises at least one of the area, the size or the shape of the first contact position.

46. The computer-readable media of claim 43 , wherein the instructions to cause the at least one property of the object to be controlled further comprises instructions to apply a corresponding pressure to the displayed object based on the change in the characteristic of the first contact position.

47. The computer-readable media of claim 36 , further comprising instructions to: use the assigned finger data to detect a movement of the first finger from a first position to a second position on the first touchpad; reposition the object in the display screen in accordance with a direction of the movement of the first finger from the first position to the second position; and enable, for the user, an interaction with the re-positioned object.

48. A system for controlling a control region on a display screen of a computerized system configured to: obtain first data from a first touchpad, the first data being associated with a position of a portion of the hand of a user when the user operates the computerized system using the first touchpad, the first data not being associated with an image of a finger of the user from an image sensor; wherein said hand is at an arbitrary location and an arbitrary angle with respect to said first touchpad; transmit the first data from the first touchpad to the computerized device, the first touchpad being located in a location that is different from the location of the display screen; analyze the first data in accordance with a model of a human hand configured to cope with arbitrary hand locations and angles; wherein said model of a human hand models a natural joint axis for a plurality of different types of fingers and joints of the human hand, and further comprises the relative lengths of the underlying hand bone structure and space occupied by the hand's muscles and skin; wherein said method further comprises using said model to calculate the relationship between finger roots and an overall hand palm angle; and assign the first data to at least one specific finger of a plurality of fingers of the model, thereby producing assigned finger data; detect with the system and the assigned finger data, an interaction of at least the portion of the hand of the user comprising assigned finger data on the first touchpad with at least one object displayed on the display screen; and cause at least one property of the object to be controlled in accordance with the interaction of the portion of the hand of the user comprising assigned finger data on the first touchpad.

49. The system of claim 48 , further configured to use the assigned finger data to detect a finger swipe of a first finger of the user on the first touchpad when the user interacts with the at least one object on the display screen.

50. The system of claim 48 , further configured to detect an interaction of at least a second finger of the user with the first finger of the user on the first touchpad, wherein the second finger is located on a second touchpad, the second touchpad being located in a location different from the first touchpad.

51. The system of claim 50 further configured to: use the assigned finger data to identify a first position of the first finger on the first touchpad; identify a second position of the second finger on the second touchpad; detect a selection of the object; and detect a movement of the first position of the first finger relative to the second position of the second finger.

52. The system of claim 50 further configured to rotate the object based on the detected movement.

53. The system of claim 50 further configured to: use the assigned finger data to identify a first contact position of a first finger; detect a selection of the object; detect a change in a characteristic of the first contact position; and cause the at least one property of the object to be controlled based on the change in the characteristic.

54. The system of claim 50 further configured to apply a corresponding pressure to the displayed object based on the change in the characteristic of the first contact position.